The Practice Effect

(This blog was originally posted on November 30, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

In David Brin’s novel titled The Practice Effect, the most effective (and valued) tools and equipment are old and well-used. Here on Earth, a brand-new axe blade is sharp and gets the job done in one or two swings. Conversely, protagonist Dr. Dennis Nuel discovers that same new axe is useless on an anomaly planet he is exploring compared to a worn-out counterpart with a dull blade and grooves where the user’s hands would have held it.

I loved this book when I read it in 1984, and the concept of a “practice effect” continues to fascinate me in the context of how the mind works. As I explain to hypnotherapy clients who want to change a long-term habit, the more they do or “practice” this behavior the easier, more automatic and, yes, “effective” it becomes. For example, when you learned algebra the symbols and arithmetic required to solve an equation probably challenged every mathematical skill you had up to that point. However, with practice you may have advanced to geometry, trigonometry or even calculus; if nothing else, you can apply simple algebra to work out how much tip to leave at a restaurant. Just like the grooves in the worn axe handle in Brin’s novel, repeating familiar behaviors eventually creates a subconscious mental script that reinforces their importance and value to the subconscious mind. (This attachment to a behavior such as smoking or drug use/abuse will be even stronger with a physiological chemical addiction.*) 

The perceived value of a familiar or “known” behavior comes from the comfort you derive from repeating and practicing this action. However, it is also why changing or stopping the behavior completely is so difficult. Remember, anything new or different (unfamiliar) is considered “pain” in the subconscious mind. It is almost as if you are starting all over again, having to learn a new or even re-learn a previous more effective “old” behavior. In many cases, you have to keep practicing that other, less comfortable but more desirable way of doing things over and over until it, too, has developed a “practice effect” that is ultimately more valuable than that old strategy.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as alternative or complimentary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered as a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Limited Special Offer!

Save an additional 10 percent on the 10-week weight-loss package.

This discount only applies to the 10-week weight-loss program and may not be combined with any other offer. It is valid through February 15, 2019 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “Changing your mind is not necessarily a sign of weakness but an indication you are willing to learn and capable of growth.” – Brian Rathbone

• “Success is emergence after overcoming obstacles that stand in our way. Our resilience and commitment to progress, drives us to achieve.” – Sam Sheppard, OAS

• “Take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go.” – Jodi Olshina

• “All great truths begin as blasphemies.” – George Bernard Shaw

• “Single, but never alone.” – Taylor Swift

• “A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” – Confucius

• “Anger is the ultimate destroyer of your own peace of mind.” – Dalai Lama

• “All suffering is a doorway, all pain is an entrance, and all loss is a gate.” – Lolly Daskal

• “Forgive all who have offended you, not for them, but for yourself.” – Harriet Nelson

• “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Limited Special Offer!

Save an additional 10 percent on the 10-week weight-loss package.

This discount only applies to the 10-week weight-loss program and may not be combined with any other offer. It is valid through February 15, 2019 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019

Recipe for Success, Part 2

(This blog was originally posted on January 19, 2017)

Photo by Rick Hustead

People often come in for hypnotherapy to change or adopt a behavior that will help them achieve a specific goal or succeed at a particular endeavor. Contrary to popular belief (and the stories we tell ourselves), Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. asserted that such success had nothing to do with intelligence, working hard, being nice or deserving, etc. Rather, success (or lack thereof) boiled down to the mental “programming” a person received and how that program was reinforced in daily life (behaviors). 

In Part 1 of this blog, I explained why subconscious resistance to changing those familiar—albeit unwanted—behaviors can keep us stuck there. In today’s blog I describe the Recipe for Success to help you stop the self-limiting script and help you achieve your self-improvement goals. 

1.       Believe that you are 100% successful at what you want to achieve. Everything that happens to you is an expression of the subconscious signal you send to the universe. As you change the previous programming of this script by changing those old beliefs, the Universe will send you new opportunities. 

2.       Daily Reinforcement. According to Dr. Kappas’s Theory of Mind, every one of your current beliefs and action reinforces what you learned from the time you were born until you were about eight years old. If you are battling homeostasis, you must battle it daily by practicing the new beliefs and behaviors you want to replace the old, obsolete ones. 

3.       Ideomotor Response. Handwriting daily affirmations and goals/achievements in the Mental Bank Ledger is a great way to reinforce those new behaviors. (I teach my clients how the Mental Bank Concept helps to replace their obsolete subconscious mental script with one that will help them achieve new goals and provide their first ledger to get them started!)

4.       Symbolic Language. Dr. Kappas chose monetary and numeric symbols (e.g., the $) to represent success and growth because numbers are an important part of how the subconscious mind works. 

5.       Hypnosis. The hypnotherapist facilitates a natural process that occurs at least twice each day during the “Magic 30 minutes” after waking up in the morning and just prior to drifting off to sleep at night. These periods of natural hypnosis are when a person is most suggestible to changing or adopting a new behavior/belief. (This is why you are encouraged to do the Mental Bank right before going to sleep at night.) Similarly, the hypnotic suggestions given during hypnotherapy also “ride the wave” into the subconscious mind to effect the desired change. 

6.       Precognitive and Venting Dreams. The majority of change does not happen in the office during the hypnotherapy session. Rather, the hypnotherapist plants the seed for this change that grows over time, starting in sleep. For example, during hypnosis I drop in a hypnotic suggestion that my client will have a venting dream to release any attachment to the unwanted behaviors. Meanwhile, the person can gain insight and benefit from dreams that occurred during the precognitive stage of sleep about how to resolve any conflicts that have prevented achieving the desired goal.

Limited Special Offer!

Save an additional 10 percent on the 10-week weight-loss package.

This discount only applies to the 10-week weight-loss program and may not be combined with any other offer. It is valid through February 15, 2019 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019